Licensed practical and vocational nurses represent the entry level of the nursing profession. They provide basic nursing care in various settings, including hospitals and nursing homes, freeing registered nurses to handle more complex patient needs. LPNs who wish to advance in the profession can upgrade their education and become registered nurses, either through part-time college classes or a distance education provider such as Excelsior College.

Admissions

Excelsior's associate degree programs provide a professional upgrade path for active health-care providers, such as LPNs, military corpsmen, paramedics and midwives. The admissions criteria for the program are very straightforward. If you're currently working as a licensed vocational or practical nurse, you must provide documentation of your license as part of your admissions package, along with the completed application and appropriate fees.

Incomplete RN Studies

The process is slightly more complex for candidates who have begun but not completed a registered nurse training program. As of January 2012, if you've already completed at least half of an accredited RN training program, you must apply for individual consideration on a case-by-case basis. Applicants must have completed at least 50 percent of the program's course work with at least a C average within five years of the application date. Admission requires official transcripts from your RN course work and documentation that you're currently working in the nursing field.

Curriculum

The RN associate degree program at Excelsior College includes course work in both general and nursing-specific material. The courses in general education provide a foundational knowledge in the sciences and humanities. They include written communications, human anatomy and physiology, mathematics, microbiology and sociology. Nursing-specific subject matter includes a variety of focused course work covering safety issues, reproductive health and care of patients at different life stages. Another core class discusses the role of registered nurses in health care, and how to adapt to this set of duties and responsibilities.

After the Program

Excelsior's program includes examinations in various core nursing competencies. However, graduates do not automatically become registered nurses. They must first pass a standardized national examination known as the NCLEX-RN. Some states' boards of nursing might have additional requirements before you can be licensed to practice. Although upgrading requires an investment of time, effort and money, the benefits are substantial. In May 2011, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a median income of $65,950 for registered nurses, but only $41,150 for LPNs. The bureau also projects 711,900 new jobs for registered nurses between 2010 and 2020, more than any other occupation.

Tuition and Fees

Since students complete courses at their own pace, Excelsior's associate degree program breaks out its costs by course rather than by semester or academic year, as conventional colleges would. As of September 2012, the payment structure included an $80 application fee, $1,015 enrollment fee, $485 student services fee and $495 graduation fee. Nursing theory exams are charged separately at $305 each, the Focused Clinical Competencies Assessment examinations cost $330 in total, and the Clinical Performance in Nursing Examination costs $2,145. To put its tuition costs in perspective, the school breaks down its cost per credit relative to several leading distance education providers, all of which are costlier.

About the Author

Fred Decker is a trained chef and certified food-safety trainer. Decker wrote for the Saint John, New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal, and has been published in Canada's Hospitality and Foodservice magazine. He's held positions selling computers, insurance and mutual funds, and was educated at Memorial University of Newfoundland and the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology.